Ghosts in Steel
by Argonaut57
Summary: An attack by Cybermen on the coast of Japan has UNIT and the Pacific Rim Defence Corporation on the back foot. Fortunately, Tony Stark is on a trip to Tokyo, so the Avengers are quickly on the scene, along with a new ally, the Silver Sorceror. But the appearance of a Cyberking Dreadnaught may call for the return of an almost-forgotten hero!
1. Chapter 1

**Green Steel**

 **Part One: The Temple of the Head**

 _Unnamed Island, South Pacific, Spring 2014_

It had taken Jamie a while to earn the trust of the local people. At first, of course, they thought he was from one of the big conglomerates, come to ruin their island. When they found he had no communication devices, just a lot of notebooks, they thought he was a journalist or a writer here to study them. That made them more open with him, at first. Then, of course, they realised that he was more interested in living the life than documenting it. Not that it made him one of them – they thought he was a little crazy – but they liked him well enough. Old Keemu, the priest, seemed to be the only one to fully grasp that there was no way Jamie could live the life he wanted to live, in harmony with nature, back in the States.

Quite why he had been asked to join this particular pilgrimage, however, Jamie was unsure. Keemu had told him that once every ten years, all the adult males of the tribe were obliged to make a trip into the rugged and uninhabited interior of the island. Their goal was some kind of ancient temple.

"You should come take a look." Keemu had said in his fluent English. "Maybe you can tell us something about the place."

Why the old man thought this should be so, Jamie had no idea, but he was curious. The trip started out like a holiday. The men talked as they walked, they told the kind of jokes and sang the kind of songs that men of almost any race tell and sing once out of earshot of their womenfolk. Jamie, who was already fairly adept in the local dialect, had his vocabulary expanded in directions he had not expected. But as they got deeper in, the mood changed. The chatter faded and the men became, not solemn or afraid, but somehow uncomfortable.

They came to a long, narrow valley and climbed a gentle slope. The valley opened out into a dale, and there they saw their destination. Jamie let out a low whistle. Whatever this was, it had not been built by any Polynesian people. The style was completely wrong.

"The Temple of the Head, we call it." Keemu told him.

Jamie shook his head. The 'temple' looked almost like a statue buried in the ground to its neck. But what a statue! The head – all that was visible – looked to be about 25 feet high, meaning that if there was a statue underneath, the whole thing would be 200 feet tall!

The face, if it was a face, was masklike, having only eyes and a mouth. Instead of ears, there seemed to be some kind of headphones, connected across the top of the head with tubes. A crude stone stairway led up to the gaping mouth.

Keemu and the other men stood back, letting Jamie approach. He went up the steps and paused.

"Don't go in on your own!" One of the men called. "We'll need lights."

Jamie nodded, then touched the wall at one side of the mouth. It was discoloured with age and exposure to the elements, but there was no moss, no vegetation of any kind climbing on it, smooth and cold to the touch.

Keemu was beside him. "Well?" The old man asked. "What do you think?"

"It's metal." Jamie said. "Or stone coated in metal. Weird."

Keemu shook his head. "None of our people could or would have built this." He stated. "Do you know of anyone who could?"

Jamie shrugged. "The face looks a little like some Viking and Saxon war-masks I saw in England. But this is nothing like anything they could build back then. The Greeks, the Romans, even the Chinese couldn't have made this!

"Is it as old as it looks?"

"Nobody knows." Keemu told him. "The Old People, who lived here before we came, told our ancestors that it had always been here. We've lived on this island for maybe three hundred years, and the Old People even longer."

Jamie gave a laugh. "There are people back in my country who'd talk about Atlanteans and Lemurians, or the Lizard-men of Valusia." He said. "I'd say aliens, but only because we know they exist now. Less than ten years ago, I wouldn't have said that!"

"Spacemen, huh?" Keemu replied. "I'd kinda figured that, myself. But let's get inside. When you've seen the rest, I'll tell you more."

The rest of the men had made crude torches, and it was by the flickering orange light of these that they made their way into the mouth. This was a large room, with several metal doors leading off it. All tightly closed and with no visible means of opening them. In the centre was a large chair, with several obviously high-tech but very inert devices clustered around it. Seated in the chair was a human skeleton, still articulated,, with a metal band around the skull that connected to the machinery.

Jamie couldn't understand how the bones held together, they should have fallen apart. Then he saw something gleam in the torchlight. Looking closer, he saw a fine web of metal filaments that covered the skeleton, keeping it intact.

"Our people came here three hundred years ago," Keemu said. "because the volcano in the middle of our old home was erupting, and we couldn't stay there. We'd fished off this island for years, and we knew the Old People. They were dying. they'd stopped having children and a lot of them were wasting away.

"The Old People told us we could have the island, as long as we took care of the last of them, and made sure the giant didn't wake up. They said that they used to worship the giant and try to wake it up. Once a year, they would all go to the Temple, and choose one of the youngest and strongest men to sit in the throne and put the crown on. The legend was that if the warrior was good enough, the giant would awake and make him into a God. But the young men who tried all died.

"Then one day, a strange ship, like nothing they'd ever seen before, put in to the island, and a group of men with white skins and strange clothes and weapons came ashore. They didn't stay long, but they left one man behind. When the Old People approached him, he attacked them and killed six of their warriors with his metal sword before they knocked him out.

"Well, since he was such a mighty warrior, they thought he might be able to wake the giant. So they took him to the Temple and put him on the throne. He wasn't like the others, he didn't die straight away. His eyes opened, and he said something in a strange language. They figured it was a curse, because a terrible light shone in the Temple for a minute. Then the white man died.

"But after that, the Old People could never make children any more. Worse, a lot of them started to waste away and die early. That's how we found them. Ever since then, every ten years, the men of the tribe come here to make sure that skeleton is still in place. When he does fall out of the throne, it means the giant is going to expect more young men to be put in it, and when that happens, we will leave the island."

There was no ceremony as such. The men cleared the room of ten years' worth of wind-blown detritus. Keemu placed a smooth white stone from the shore on a small pile of similar stones between the skeletons' feet. Then they set up camp in the dale outside.

It had been a long day, but sleep would not come for Jamie. He lay staring up at the stars, brooding. There was something maddeningly familiar about the great metal face, and he racked his brains trying to recall it. His mind, as it often did when he couldn't sleep, went back home, to the small, remote Kansas farm where he and his widowed mother had lived. Simple lives, in tune with the rhythm of the seasons, sowing and harvesting enough to feed themselves and a little extra to sell, for cash they would use to buy the few things they didn't make themselves and couldn't do without. Gasoline for the ancient truck, for instance, or new tools. They had no tractor, but kept a pair of horses to pull the plough. Their only electricity was from an old battery, charged up by a cranky windmill, that served both for the truck and an antique radio.

It was on that radio they had listened to the sporadic news reports, six years ago now, about the aliens who had invaded Earth. The Daleks, it seemed, had no interest in remote farms, so Jamie and his mother had been sorry for the city folk who died, but were unaffected themselves.

But that same year, Jamies' Ma had passed away, leaving him adrift and purposeless at the age of twenty. Inexperienced about the world, and having barely attended, much less finished, High School, he had come back from his mornings' work, a month after the funeral, to find a shiny SUV parked in front of the ramshackle house. The sharp-suited lawyer from a farming conglomerate had overwhelmed him with words, and before he realised it, Jamie had sold his home.

The resentment he felt, once realisation had sunk in, was not wholly justified. The lawyer had, in his way, been a fair man, and the price paid to Jamie had been at the top of what the land was worth. But even with ample funds, Jamie had been unable to adjust to a life of artificial rhythms. The city suffocated him, and everywhere he went, he found people who lived by clock and calendar, rather than sun and season. He also resented the cost of living elsewhere, and the constant pressure to buy more than needed, and to work for wages, rather than live off his own labour. So he had travelled, in search of a place where people still lived simply and naturally, and the search had brought him here.

But it was during his travels that he had seen images like the face on the Temple, and now he remembered. Another race of aliens, who had tried to conquer Earth and failed. The name he had heard was Cybermen.

Just thinking of that word seemed to open a window in his mind. An idea seemed to form out of nowhere. An idea that would help all mankind. But it needed something to achieve it. Something he could only find within the Temple.

Everyone else was asleep, so he slipped back up to the mouth and peered in. As he did so, faint light began to glow from panels in the ceiling. Fascinated, he moved further in. A soft, pervasive hum filled the air. Jamie halted a moment, putting a hand to his head. Then he straightened up and moved forward, face blank, limbs stiff. The skeleton in the chair flared with blue light, and vanished. Jamie sat down, and without apparent volition, placed the metal band on his head. For a few seconds, his body went rigid, his face distorted in pain. Then he relaxed, and opened his eyes, revealing nothing but fathomless black.

 _New Command Core installed. System diagnostic in progress._

 _Reactor resuming full operation._

 _Major systems functional._

 _Some damage to peripheral systems. Repair drones dispatched._

 _Require mission parameters. Uploading from Command Core._

 _Parameter one: Destroy advanced technology._

 _Parameter two: Destroy industrial economy._

 _Parameter three: Destroy cities._

 _Parameters compatible with base directives. Mission accepted._

 _Mission requirements._

 _Repairs underway._

 _Full crew and strike teams required._

 _Life-forms suitable for upgrading located nearby, Cybermats dispatched to harvest._

 _Upgrade facility operational and ready._

 _Scanning for more upgradable life-forms._

 _Nature of location and resources indicate slow build-up optimal._

 _Projected time until full mission capability one planetary orbit._

 _Cyberking now active._

 _Tokyo, Japan. Summer 2015_

"Wow!" Tony Stark gasped. "Is that what..who..I think it is?"

Tony was not a man easily impressed – he had seen a great deal, and done even more. But the 160-foot figure that dominated the courtyard of the impressive building was even more significant than it's sheer size implied.

Shinsei Tanaka smiled proudly. "Indeed, Antony-san. That is _Tetsujin Nijuhachi-go_ – Iron Man 28. Though I believe the Western press called him by another name."

"Gigantor." Tony said. "Is that a replica, Tanaka-san?"

"No, that is the actual mech." Tanaka replied. "Which is to say, it is his outer shell and skeleton. His active systems – reactor, rocket engines and hydraulic musculature, as well as the control unit, were all removed when he was decommissioned in 1966. But Kaneda Shotaro could never bring himself to fully dismantle the old fellow, and he was kept at his old base until last year. Shotaro-san had left _Tetsujin_ and the base to the company when he died in 1982, and when we opened this fine new HQ last year, we decided to set him up here as a memorial to our founders."

"Don't," said the matronly red-haired woman standing nearby, "get any ideas, Arthur!"

The tall, thin, balding man standing next to Tony gave a sheepish grin. "No, dear." He said. "Of course not, dear."

"Ah, you are also an engineer, Arthur-san?" Tanaka asked.

Arthur Weasley shook his head. "Sadly not, Tanaka-san. Before I retired, I was an employee of the Health and Safety Executive in Britain, so I did deal with technology to a certain extent. But I've always been a bit of a tinkerer in my spare time."

"Ah!" Tanaka grinned. "Well, very many useful inventions have been made by 'tinkerers', Arthur-san! I take it that is why Antony-san brought you along today?"

"Yes, he thought I'd be interested." Arthur replied. "Though I'd never heard of the PDRC before. Tony tells me you're a Private Military Company?"

"Yes." Tanaka nodded. "I am aware that many people disapprove of such businesses, but we are not mercenaries in the understood or traditional sense of the word." He gestured for them to follow him and continued to talk as they went.

"The original organisation was called PBDC – Pacific Basin Defence Co-operative. It was, as the name implies, a co-operative of scientists, engineers and soldiers brought together by a concern about the increasing number of _kaiju_ and _daikaiju_ attacks taking place in the area."

"Yes, I've heard of those." Arthur put in. "Giant monsters that attack around the coastal areas. You've had a lot of problems in the past with them."

"Indeed." Tanaka acknowledged. "The PBDC was formed in 1954 – the year that Gojira first appeared. They felt that the military forces in the various nations were far more concerned with the Cold War than the monster attacks, and feared that eventually those authorities might be driven to a nuclear response."

"My father was one of the founders." Tony added. "Along with Dr Benton Quest. The PBDC looked at less conventional ways of stopping the _kaiju."_

Tanaka nodded. "They tried lasers, masers, sonics, electrical weapons and even toxic agents. The weapons were often effective, but seldom lethal, and the monsters always came back.

"But Dr Kanedas' wife was an expert in animal behaviour. She suggested to him that the monsters always returned because they could not see or understand what had beaten them. Humans to them were little more than ants, and could not exert any kind of territorial dominance that the beasts would recognise.

"From that came the idea of a giant robot, as big as the _daikaiju_ and able to fight them physically. The result was _Tetsujin_. He had a crude, poorly-shielded nuclear reactor, leaky hydraulic muscles and a rocket pack with a range of less than thirty miles. He was controlled remotely by a clumsy, heavy unit that only Dr Kanedas' son, Shotaro, knew how to operate. But for ten years he was our only and best defence against the _daikakiju_. He did the job and he earned their respect!

"But eventually, he became obsolete, so we decommissioned him. By that time, we'd acquired and repurposed some of Bolivar Trasks' Sentinel robots. With what we learned from them, and from our experience with _Tetsujin_ , we built two more mechs, Great Mazinger and Jet Jaguar.

"Then in the 1980s, it became clear that we could no longer support ourselves as a non-profit organisation. So the PBDC was disbanded and the PRDC – Pacific Rim Defence Corporation – was formed. We provide highly-trained troops armed with state-of-the-art weaponry -most of which is non-lethal – for security to governments and private companies across the region. We also train local armed and security forces.

"When we first started, we used the profits to do further research and development into mechs. We built three more – Raydeen, Dangard Ace and Combatra – for _daikaiju_ defence and another one, Red Ronin, was commissioned for SHIELD.

"But then, of course, the _daikaiju_ began to change their behaviour. They became less hostile. They helped defend the Earth against several alien threats, including the Daleks. Now they all live on Monster Island, where our people study them. We're making great strides in communicating with them, in fact."

"So now you're just a PMC?" Arthur asked.

"Not entirely." Tanaka said. "You see, Arthur-san, there are a great many islands in the Pacific ocean. Now many of them are little more than coral reefs around a lagoon, but a substantial number are large enough to support communities, and many do.

"Some of them are claimed by various governments – the Pitcairn Islands are still a colony of your country, for instance – but many are not, and do not wish to be. We use the profits from our paid work to finance assistance to these people. It could be support and relief after natural disasters, or protection from the pirate fleets that still hunt those waters. Also, sometimes, American, Japanese or Chinese commercial interests can be less than ethical in their dealings with such communities. Support from the PRDC can lend weight to local opinions.

"But sometimes, we find ourselves at a loss. For the last twelve months, some of these island communities have been, for want of a better word, disappearing!"

"What, just up and leaving?" Tony asked.

Tanaka shook his head. "No. That we could understand. No, what happens is that either a neighbouring island notices signs of conflict, or there is a distress call – usually garbled and cut off short. By the time help arrives, we find all the healthy adults and children gone, and the old and sick dead, killed out of hand."

"You've reported this?" Arthur asked.

"To who?" Tanaka replied. "Those islands don't belong to anyone. They don't produce anything valuable. Nobody cares. Except us."

Tony and Arthur exchanged a grim look. "We know people who'll care." Tony said. "People who can get things done. Give us the details!"

But Tanaka never had a chance. Suddenly, alarms began to blare inside the building, and sirens began to wail outside.

"What the heck...?" Tony exclaimed.

Tanaka had pulled out a tablet computer and was reading rapidly.

"A coastal installation is under attack about five kilometres away." He told them. "There's an oil refinery there, and a nuclear power station, as well as several factories. Reports indicate..." He looked up, pale faced. "They say it's Cybermen!

"UNIT has only a small presence in Japan, but they're _en route_ , so are our people, but they're going to be badly outnumbered. Wait! They say there's a giant Cyberman there – 200 feet tall and heavily armed!"

"Can you get your own mechs on-site?" Tony asked.

Tanaka shook his head. "They're mothballed. We'd need twenty-four hours to get them battle-ready, and even then, we have no trained pilots – the original ones no longer work for us, and we'd have to locate them. It might take days. The SHIELD heli-carrier and UNITS' _Valiant_ are both in the Atlantic, also hours away."

"Dammit!" Tony said. He pulled out his cellphone and speed-dialled a specific number. "Erik? Tony. You monitoring the situation here? How soon? Damn! It'll have to do. Meet you there."

"Wait!" Arthur Weasley had been talking into a pocket mirror, which Tanaka fortunately had been too busy with his tablet to notice. "Tell Mr Lensherr to get his people together and wait. Someone will be there to help in a few minutes. Then you'd better get into your working clothes, Tony!"

Tony knew Arthur better than to ask any questions. He'd already signalled with a device on his wrist, and now a red-and-gold UAV dropped out of the sky to hover nearby. A hatch at the rear of the drone opened and Tony, shedding his jacket as he ran, dived into it. The fuselage seemed to fold round him before dropping clear of the rest of the drone as Iron Man!

"Tanaka-san, show me where this attack is happening!." Arthur said, the authority in his voice unmistakable. "Right! Molly, get back to the hotel. Tony, shall we?"

"Be careful!" Molly ordered. Arthur just grinned at her, then he and Iron Man vanished with a boom.

Tanaka stared at the spot they had been in, then turned to Molly, who had already raised her wand. " _Oblivius!_ " Tanaka blinked at her, then looked around.

"I think," Molly said firmly but kindly, "they need you inside, Tanaka-san."


	2. Chapter 2

**Ghosts in Steel**

 **Part Two: Amphibious Assault**

 _Avengers' Mansion, New York, Summer 2015_

The all-too-familiar Red Alert blared through the corridors of the mansion. Over the internal communication system, the voice of Erik Lensherr intoned the traditional summons: "Avengers assemble!"

 _And I never_ , the man called Magneto mused, not for the first time, _expected to hear myself saying that!_

He sat down in the chair at the head of the briefing room table and stared at his reflection in the polished wood. At the age of eighty-eight, he could still pass for a vigorous man in his fifties. His thick hair had been white since his teens, when he had seen his parents die at the hands of the SS. His face indeed bore the marks of his life-long struggles, both political, for Mutant rights, and personal, against his own demons. It was lined with experience and sorrow, but the eyes were still keen and bright.

 _From concentration camp survivor to Mutant terrorist to Director of Avengers Branch._ He reflected. _That is a great deal for one lifetime!_

Then the door opened, and the Avengers trooped in. A very different group from the one that had first assembled aboard the SHIELD Heli-Carrier in a bid to defeat Lokis' plan to conquer Earth. There had been many members over time. Some had left, others were dead. A plaque on the wall behind Erik listed the names of some: Wanda Maximoff, The Vision, T'Challa, Simon Williams, Henry McCoy, Jennifer Walters, Janet Van Dyne and Henry Pym. All fallen in the terrible few days of the Stolen Earth and the Dalek invasion.

It was ironic, Erik thought, that the team assembled here was mostly composed of former X-Men, the Mutant team who had for many years been his bitterest enemies. The tall and lovely Ororo Monroe, _Storm,_ was the firstto come in. She was followed by the clever, funny and brave Kate Pryde, _Shadowcat_ , and her lover, Piotr Rasputin, or _Colossus._ After them came the Avengers veteran Clint Barton, codenamed _Hawkeye_. Next to enter was the massive orange form of Ben Grimm, the _Thing_. Then Natasha Romanova, the feared _Black Widow_. Finally, and arguably the most dangerous of all, came the stocky Canadian Logan, the _Wolverine_.

"What do we have, Erik?" Ororo asked.

"I've just had a call from Tony in Tokyo – and official confirmation has just come in – that a coastal installation in Japan, composed of a refinery, several factories and a nuclear power plant, is under attack by Cybermen." Erik stated.

"Cybermen?" Kate frowned. "That's not right. Not an isolated strike on a single area. The last time they attacked, they hit everywhere at once."

"An expeditionary force?" Natasha hazarded.

Clint shook his head. "There are more important targets, Tash, and better places to set up a bridgehead."

"What are these Cybermen, anyway?" Ben wanted to know. "I clobbered a few of 'em back with the FF in '06, but I never found out much about 'em. Some kind of robots? Usually one of 'em starts makin' cornball speeches 'bout who they are and what they want. All these guys ever said was 'Delete!' Like crazy editors, or somethin'."

"Kate?" Erik asked.

"They're not robots." The young woman replied. "They're cyborgs. They recruit by taking 'good stock' from local populations and 'upgrading' them into Cybermen. Anyone else – unsuitable or just too much trouble – they 'delete', kill.

"Apart from that one full-scale invasion in 2006, there have been a few attempts to infiltrate, create a bridgehead as Clint says. They've always been beaten, usually by UNIT, and often with the help of the Doctor.

"Have there been sightings of the Doctor or the TARDIS, Erik?"

"Not thus far." He replied.

"So what's the situation on the ground, Boss?" Logan wanted to know.

Erik shrugged. "The Japanese military is following standard protocols for this kind of incident, in that they've set up a perimeter and are supervising evacuation."

"So they're treating it like a _daikaiju_ attack?" Ororo asked.

"They are." Erik confirmed. "There are PRDC forces already in the area, but they're equipped for local security. The PRDC is putting a response team together as we speak, and Japanese UNIT forces are already on the ground. But apparently the Cybermen are attacking in large numbers with the support of a 200-foot tall mech.

"Since the _daikaiju_ are no longer a problem, the PRDC have mothballed their super-mechs, so this presents difficulties.

"Iron Man is in the field, and has requested our support."

"We got a quinjet warmin' up?" Logan asked. "We better move, it's a long trip to Japan!"

"I am told," Erik said, "that this will not be necessary, as someone is coming 'to help'."

At that point, the mansions' Jarvis AI interrupted. "Authorised entrance at the front door, sir. SHIELD Agent Ronald Weasley. He will be with you in a moment."

 _Wizards,_ Kate thought, _are supposed to be scrawny old men in robes and pointy hats. Not muscular young giants in sweatshirts and jeans! I can never get used to that!_

Ron swept his piercing blue gaze around the room. They all knew him, and some of them had worked with him against the Scholomance, so no introductions were necessary.

"So, Ronald, you are the help we were promised?" Erik asked.

"'Fraid so." Ron answered. "Dad was with Tony when the balloon went up, and he asked me to pitch in."

"You gonna apparate us all to Japan on your lonesome, big guy?" Logan asked. "Or is Harry followin' up?"

"Just me." Ron told him. "But I've got a trick up my sleeve! Well, round my middle, actually."

He put his hand over the elaborate silver buckle that secured his belt and murmured a few words. A silver aura formed round him before solidifying into a suit of white and silver armour. It looked a little like the armour of a medieval knight, but more streamlined, and to Storms' Mutant senses, it crackled with eldritch energy. The visor flipped up and Ron grinned at them.

"Introducing the Mark II Silver Sorceror magical battlesuit!" He announced. "Wearing this, I can apparate all of you anywhere in the world without breaking the proverbial sweat!"

"Right!" Storm said. "Let's move!"

"I think I shall accompany you." Erik decided. "Don't worry, Ororo, you are still Team Leader, but a man can only spend so much time behind a desk!"

"You sound like Harry." Ron commented. "Right, join hands, everyone. Please keep your arms and hands inside the spell at all times. In case of emergency, place your head between your legs and kiss your arse goodbye. For those who haven't apparated before, it's unpleasantly like being drunk."

"What's unpleasant about being drunk?" Ben asked.

"Ask a bottle of beer." Logan advised.

There was a shattering boom, and the briefing room was empty.

 _Industrial Park, Japanese Coast, Summer 2015_

The sudden appearance of Iron Man and Arthur in the middle of a temporary command post caused a few looks, but no challenges. The red-and-gold armour was recognisable anywhere, so people simply got out of the way as the newcomers approached a table around which several officers stood. One of them, a burly Japanese in grey urban combats and body armour, looked up as they arrived and gave a wide, relieved, smile.

"Iron Man!" He said in perfect English. "I didn't know you were in Japan, but I am very happy to see you. I am Captain Hiro, PRDC, Head of Security for this Industrial Park. Are any of your colleagues here?"

"The team's inbound." Iron Man told him. "Maybe fifteen, twenty minutes out?" He looked at Arthur for confirmation, who nodded. "You're in charge here, Captain?"

"Thankfully, no." Hiro admitted. "I have ceded that post, with some relief, to the Colonel here."

This was a six-and-a-half foot tall, bearded blond man in UNIT combat gear.

"Colonel Gunnar Eriksson, Unified Intelligence Task-Force." He introduced himself. "I am also very glad to see you here, Mr Stark, and pleased that your team-mates are on their way. But who is your actual companion?"

"Arthur Weasley." Arthur introduced himself and then, because this was no time to be coy, he added. "I'm a wizard."

Eriksson looked at him for a moment, then asked. "Are you any relation to Major Ronald Weasley?"

"His father." Arthur allowed.

Eriksson nodded and smiled. "Excellent! If your son is, as you British say, 'a chip off the old block', then I am glad to have you here, sir!"

At that point, there was a boom that sent everyone except Arthur (who knew apparation when he heard it) diving for cover, and reinforcements arrived!

There was no need for extended introductions, and Storm got straight to business.

"What's the situation, here?" She asked.

"Peculiar." Captain Hiro stated. "About 11:00 local, our security computers were violently overridden and the entire park went into lockdown. It was mid-morning, so virtually all the civilians were sealed in the buildings, along with the majority of our security operatives. We were shut out of our systems and locked in as well, but our HQ building was designed with a hacker attack in mind, and we had a manual-only exit.

"I took my Tactical Unit and went out to scout, that's when we saw that thing!"

He pointed seaward, where a towering figure was visible on the skyline. "It's standing about two hundred metres offshore, roughly waist deep. It looks like a giant Cyberman. The only time it moved was when a Navy frigate came too close -it has some kind of laser cannon on one arm, and it just sliced the ship in two!

"Then it launched two or three squadrons of UAVs that attacked us. After that, boats came ashore and started landing Cybermen. Easily a couple of hundred of them.

"But they didn't swarm us. They moved straight to the nearest building, got into it somehow and took it over. As far as we can tell, they take the employees back to the mech in the boats, then they systematically destroy every bit of equipment in the building, set demolition charges, and move on.

"They've set up a perimeter around that shore-front section. It's mostly small factories. They've taken out three so far, but they don't seem to be in any hurry. Also, they're constantly being reinforced, though where the new ones are coming from, I've no idea."

"From that thing." Kate told them, pointing to the distant mech. "It's in the files UNIT shared with SHIELD. That's a Cyberking Dreadnought, an invasion unit. It's heavily armoured, has a laser cannon and a rocket launcher and sophisticated on-board computer systems. There's a factory in the chest that can produce all kinds of drones and Cybermats, but more important, it can take a human prisoner and convert them, in less than five minutes, into a fully battle-ready Cyberman!"

"That's cold." Barton observed.

"Makes me sick to my stomach to think of it." Kate admitted. "But it's damned efficient!"

"OK." Storm said. "Assets?"

"My Tactical Unit was twenty men and two light mechs." Hiro reported. "We lost four men and one of the mechs in the first assault. We're armed with assault rifles, tactical shotguns and sidearms. Unfortunately, our supplies of armour-piercing ammunition are limited, and nothing else even scratches the Cybermen. The mech has a 25mm chain gun and a grenade launcher but it's designed for scouting.

"PRDC is putting a strike force together, but they won't be here for another hour at least."

"I have a company." Eriksson stated. "It's all the Japanese government will allow in country – politics. We have assault rifles, light and heavy machine guns, grenades and rocket launchers. There are three medium mechs carrying miniguns and RPG launchers. Nearest UNIT reinforcements are at least three hours away. SHIELD is scrambling a strike team in South Korea, but they need permission from the Japanese government to come here – that might take a while, politics again.

"We can, however, supply Captain Hiros' men with all the ammunition they need and a few heavy weapons."

Then the field radio crackled. "Greyhound to Trap One. They've finished that section. We have drones inbound and they're moving on the next section. Orders?"

""Hold position and stand by." Eriksson responded, then turned to Hiro. "What's in the next section?"

"More factories." Hiro said. "Bigger ones. If what the young lady said is correct, they'll have got about 800 people in the block they just took out. That next block probably has about twice that."

"Beyond that?" Storm asked.

"The refinery." Hiro said grimly. "Over 2000 workers!"

"How is it locked down?" Storm asked. "Refineries have a lot of outdoor work."

"Five-metre security wall with razor wire on top. One gate, on the shoreward side, but we'd need a tank or a heavy mech to get through it!" He told her.

" _You_ might!" She replied. "OK, Tony and I will get airborne and deal with the drones. Ben, Erik, go to the refinery and do what it takes to get the gate down. We need to get those people out of here. Once you've done that, get round the other areas and break into them.

"The rest of you, support the troops, try to stop the Cybermen getting a perimeter around the next block. This is a holding action, we need to keep them busy until reinforcements arrive."

"I'll go with Mr Grimm and Mr Lensherr." Arthur said. "We'll see if three old codgers can show you kids how it's done, eh?"

"You got that right!" Ben growled. Erik just grinned.

"Will you be joining us, Major?" Eriksson asked Ron, who had deactivated his suit. "We have some gear and weapons spare."

"One moment!" Erik said. "We must take one long overdue action!"

He turned to Ron. "Ronald Bilius Weasley, raise your right hand." Ron, puzzled, complied. Erik went on. "Do you, Ronald Bilius Weasley, wizard and agent of SHIELD, solemnly swear to protect and safeguard the planet Earth, its inhabitants and resources, from any and all threats, terrestrial or otherwise, which might prove to be beyond the power of conventional forces to handle? To tolerate no interference in the growth of humanity in meeting its rightful destiny? To dedicate yourself to the establishment, growth, and preservation of peace, liberty, equality, and justice under law?"

"That's what I've spent my life doing." Ron pointed out.

"I'll take that as a yes, shall I?" Erik responded drily. "Then as Director of the Avengers Branch of SHIELD, I confirm and induct Ronald Bilius Weasley as a member of the Avengers, to be designated by the codename "Silver Sorceror", with all duties, rights and privileges pertaining thereto."

"And about damn time!" Logan grunted. "Welcome aboard, Red!"

"Do I get dental?" Ron asked.

"Only if I knock your teeth out in training." Ben said.

"Enough already!" Storm barked, though she was ginning as she did it. "Suit up, Ron, you're with Tony and I. Let's do this, people!"

 _Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Tokyo, Summer 2015_

Molly was pacing. The suite was more than comfortable, and the emergency that had cleared the streets had not affected the courtesy or efficiency of the staff. It wasn't even that she was all that worried about Arthur and Ron.

Not that she was not worried about her husband and son, but it was an everyday, background worry. Rons' job put him in harms' way on a daily basis, but Mollys' nervous, self-doubting youngest son had grown into a tough, strong-willed fighter that few could match. As for Arthur, that man had more tricks than a cage-full of monkeys! To think she used to wonder where Fred and George got it from! But retirement from the Ministry had unleashed Arthurs' inner impishness, and he was more like the mischievous schoolboy she had fallen in love with now than he had been in all the years of their marriage.

No, what was bothering her now had to do with loneliness, sadness and regret. Things that Molly could not stand to see anyone suffer. The question was, how to do something about it?

There was a rather timid knock on the door. At Mollys' call, it opened to admit an attractive young Japanese woman in a business suit. She advanced slowly into the room, staring at Molly as if she were in the company of a queen or saint. She stopped some feet away and bowed, lower than was necessary.

" _Konnichi wa,_ Molly-san." She murmured.

"Hello, dear. What can I do for you?" Molly asked kindly.

The girl straightened, but did not raise her head as she spoke. "My name is Shinoki Midori. I have the honour to be Personal Assistant to the head of Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Magic here. My employer has sent me here to see if you needed anything, or if, given the current emergency, you might wish to be brought among other wizards, rather than stay among muggles."

"Well, I'm sure that's awfully kind of your boss." Molly said. "But it's a little much to send his own PA after a simple British tourist. And do look at me when you talk to me, dear, I'm not the Queen or anyone!"

Midori looked up hesitantly. "But you are no simple tourist, Molly-san." She said seriously. "You are the mother of Ron Weasley and mother-in-law to Harry Potter, the Master of Death. You conquered Bellatrix Lestrange, the most powerful dark witch of her generation. You are an example to all mothers and wives. I am honoured and humbled to be in your presence."

Molly was more than a little taken aback by this. Not a well-travelled woman, she was wholly unaware of any reputation she might have abroad. As for home, she was aware that she and Arthur now got far more respect than before, but in her matter-of-fact way, she had taken little note of it. Not had it been shown to this extent; the English, though generally polite, are not a very deferential race.

"Come here, child, for goodness' sake!" She said. Midori approached hesitantly and Molly reached out, taking the girls' hands in her own. "Now, stand up straight and look at me!" She commanded. "My, but you're a pretty thing! Now listen! Hermione would give you a lecture about self-esteem and goodness know what else. Ginny would just tell you not to be a prat – she's a little hasty. But you've got me, so here goes.

"You must never, ever think yourself less than anyone else, dear. It's all right to be polite and respectful, and you should be that way with everyone – except your husband when you get one, husbands don't count, you know! But save humility for the mountains and the sea and the wonders of the world and nature.

"Yes, I raised fine, brave children, and I'm proud of that. Yes, I defeated Bellatrix, but she threatened to kill one of my kids. But I'm still just a woman like you. I still have to sit down to pee!"

Midori giggled then, and Molly joined her.

"That's better, dear. Now, there is something you can help me with. As long as you don't mind breaking the rules!"

"What rules, Molly-san?" Midori asked, with a hint of her former nervousness.

"Well, I know we're supposed to stay indoors," Molly told her, "but I really need to get to the courtyard outside the PRDC building. There's something important to do there, and I'm going to need your help!"

For a moment, Midori stared at the floor again, but this time, when she lifted her head, there was fire in her eyes. "I am with you!" She stated.

Molly nodded, and the two women disapparated with a quiet pop.

The sun had, of course, moved since Molly had been here before, and the huge shadow of Gigantor now darkened the locked down building he stood in front of. Molly examined the towering shell keenly for a moment, then nodded to herself. Then she focused her gaze on a clump of the shrubbery that was planted around the mechs' feet.

"You can come out, dear." She said, softly but clearly. "There's nobody here who shouldn't see you."

The ghost was barely visible in the daylight. A thin, frail Japanese man whose age was hard to tell due to the marks of illness he carried. He approached them hesitantly.

"Kaneda Shotaro, I presume." Molly said. "I'm Molly Weasley, and we need to talk."

"You are correct, Madam." Shotaro replied, his English fluent, but old-fashioned. "How may I assist you?"

"How strange!" Midori exclaimed. "We've always known there was a ghost here, but you always took care not to be seen by muggles and never spoke to any of us. We thought you belonged to the buildings that were demolished to make room for this one. Why haunt a building that wasn't built until after you...passed over?"

"He's not haunting the building." Molly said. "Are you, Shotaro-san?"

"I am not." He answered. "It is strange. I was only forty-five when the leukaemia took me. For twenty-five of those years I had played my part in defending this land. For ten of them I was the controller, the mind and will, I suppose, of Tetsujin, and at the end, I supervised his decommissioning. They told me, and I cannot disagree, that the disease which killed me was caused by working with Tetsujin and his leaky old reactor for so long, so he was responsible, in a way, for my death.

"Yet when the time came for me to go into the light, I found I could not. Something in Tetsujin still called to me, still held me. I do not know what, they took everything from him except his shell."

"And his spirit." Molly said firmly. "But we'll talk about that later. Right now, we have a job to do. There's a giant robot out there somewhere causing trouble!"

"I know little of what goes on in there." Shotaro said. "But surely my old employers have some super-mechs?"

"Three." Midori said. "All mothballed. They're bringing them back to operational status, but the only pilots they have are simulator-trained and inexperienced."

"What about the former pilots?" Molly asked. "They said something about trying to find them?"

Midori shook her head. "None of them can help. Richard Carson was paralysed in an accident on a film set, Ilongo Savage was lost at sea and Odashu Genji was killed by the Daleks when they attacked Tokyo in 2008."

"Which leaves," Molly said, "you, Shotaro-san, and Gigantor here!"

"I am willing to help if I can." Shotaro said slowly. "And I... _feel._..somehow that Testujin wants to as well. But how can this be done?"

"I think I understand your intentions, Molly-san." Midori said. "But can we...?"

"It all boils down to one thing." Molly said grimly, pulling her wand out of her handbag. "Are we witches, or aren't we?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Ghosts in Steel**

 **Part Three: Holding the Line**

 _Industrial Park, Japanese coast, Summer 2015_

"You do realise, don't you," Ron said as he, Storm and iron Man took to the air, "that this suit was designed to take down magical menaces, not high-tech alien cyborgs?"

"I helped your Pop design and build that suit, Ron." Tony replied. "I know its capabilities. More importantly, I know yours! Those Cybermen won't stand a chance!"

Then they were in the thick of it. The Cyber-drones were manta-shaped devices, four feet long with a ten-foot wingspan. They carried a front-mounted weapon, either electrical or plasma-based, and were clearly smart enough to vary their mission parameters to engage airborne opponents before beginning ground bombardment. The drones were fast and agile and for a while, things were a bit hectic.

Iron Man and the Silver Sorceror ran interference for their unarmoured team-mate. Storms' lightning bolts were highly effective, the massive voltage jumping from the targeted drone to others near it and frying their systems, bringing them down in twos and threes. Iron Man used his repulsors, micro-missiles and laser to take down others. As for the newest Avenger, even without the suit, Rons' Reductor hex could blast bricks into powder; amplified by the white-gold circuitry built into the mithril armour, it was more than enough to shred any drone he cast it at!

After a few minutes of frantic combat, the first wave of drones went down. They barely had time to catch their breath, however, before Storm yelled, "We've got incoming!"

A second, larger squadron of drones was indeed speeding towards them.

"Oh, for Merlins' sake!" Ron growled. "I can't be arsed with this. _Singularius_!"

From his outstretched hand, a tiny, almost invisible, spot of absolute blackness hurtled forward, coming to halt in the path of the drones. As it stopped, the air around it began to shimmer oddly. Then the approaching drones began to waver off course, as if irresistibly drawn to the black spot. They seemed to be _falling_ into it, first tumbling, then stretching somehow, then finally shrinking and vanishing. Only a few drones, on the very flanks of the squadron, escaped the effect, and those were easy prey for Tony and Ororo.

"Goddess!" Ororo said. "What did you do, Ron?"

"Singularity spell." Ron told her. "A little mistake of 'Miones'. Harry asked her to craft a spell that would create a kind of magic bullet. You see, Shield Charms can absorb or deflect magic pretty well, but they're not much cop against solid projectiles. Harry wanted something that would create a small, heavy, fast projectile that would punch through a shield and knock the opponent down.

"About half-way through the research, 'Mione overdid it with the mass and created something so heavy it had its own gravity well. You can cast it to create a small vortex that lasts a few seconds and causes all kinds of chaos. Obviously, in the suit, I can create a bigger one that lasts longer, but after a while it just folds in on itself and vanishes up its own quantum!"

At which point, with an almost comical pop, the magical singularity vanished.

"Right!" Storm said. "There don't seem to be any more drones, so let's go take a look at the big one!"

The PDRC and UNIT guys were doing their best, Logan noted, but they were out-gunned and outclassed as well as outnumbered. UNIT forces had brought plenty of Teflon-coated armour-piercing ammo – not just bullets for the rifles, but slugs for shotguns as well – but it was of limited value. Whatever alloy the Cybermen were covered in, it was surprisingly resistant, and it took a long burst on full automatic, or a sustained volley from several men at close range, to do significant damage. The mechs fared little better. Their miniguns could knock a Cyberman down and do some damage, but rarely enough to stop it altogether. A direct hit from an RPG did the job, but heavy ammunition was limited.

Still, they were managing to disrupt the enemy enough to slow their advance and allow Logan and his team-mates to do some real damage. Damage, of course, was what the Wolverine excelled at. Faster and far more agile than his metal opponents, he was constantly on the move, his razor-sharp adamantium claws sheared through the cyber-alloy as if it were tinfoil. Everywhere he went, he left a trail of wreckage.

As he paused for a moment, he heard a deep voice shout "Alley-oop!" and a womans' voice yell "Wheee!" _Fastball special._ He thought, and turned to see Kate flying toward him, an exultant grin on her face. He caught her deftly and set her on her feet.

"Just passin' through!" She told him.

"Kid," he chided, "you said that 'bout a thousand times, and it quit bein' funny around two hundred fifty!"

"Grouch!" She responded and turned to look back on her trajectory. About a dozen Cybermen lay in her track, sparking and twitching from the disruption caused by Shadowcats' phasing through them. Colossus, having launched her, was now following up; invulnerable to their weapons, and a physical match for any Cyberman one-on-one, his progress was slower, but inexorable.

"Back to work!" Logan told her, and was gone.

Hawkeye had found a perch, and was plying his bow with better success than the soldiers' guns. A medley of HE, armour-piercing and thermite arrows was weakening the Cybermens' armour enough for the ordinary troops to get some licks in. The spell that the wizard Neville Longbottom had cast on his quiver a year or so back meant he was in no danger of running out of arrows. He was definitely going to buy Neville a drink next time he was in England!

Natasha had become aware, all too soon, that her small-calibre handguns were useless in this fight. However, her electrical "Widows' Bite", based on the same technology as HYDRAs' Satan Claw, had allowed her to bring down a couple of Cybermen and 'liberate' their plasma pistols. Now she was doing her usual, popping up unexpectedly, doing some damage, then vanishing again.

They were holding their own, she saw. Delaying the advance, at least. They were also making a dent in the numbers, but not enough of one. The Cybermen seemed to have a considerable supply of reserves. _Oh, Bruce, where are you?_ She wondered. _If there was ever a Code Green, this is it!_

Magneto had commandeered a Jeep. "As one approaches middle-age," he told his companions, "one loses the enthusiasm for running about!"

As a result, they reached the massive gates of the refinery in short order, only to find a platoon of Japanese troops, with several trucks, already there. An officer approached and saluted.

"Captain Tanaka, Japanese Defence Force." He identified himself. "We are in charge of evacuating civilians, but obviously, we cannot reach the people in there. We do have radio contact, and they are assembled just beyond the gate, but it would be a great help, Mr Lensherr, if you and your colleagues could get it open for us!"

"That's what we came for!" Ben told him.

"And we have company, it appears!" Erik noted. "I wasn't aware they could fly!"

"Don't think all of them can." Ben remarked. "These guys look like they're wearin' jump-packs. Assault troops, I'll bet.

"Get the gate, Erik. Arthur, you're with me. In case you didn't notice – _it's clobberin' time_!"

"Meta-humans detected." Intoned the lead Cyberman. "Unsuitable for upgrade. Dele _eeeeeeeee_!"

The last word was cut off in an electronic scream as a thundering punch from the Thing separated head from body and sent the former flying several yards. The orange behemoth that had once been a star running back, Golden Gloves champion and ace test-pilot was possessed of a strength and durability matched by few and surpassed only by three other manlike beings. A single blow was enough to reduce any Cyberman to scrap.

But there were a lot of them, and Arthur Weasley was not about to let Ben have all the fun! _Levicorpus_ lifted a Cyberman, helpless, into the air. Arthur flipped the body through ninety degrees, set it spinning at a fearsome rate, and sent it into the ranks of its fellows. The result was somewhat akin to setting a seven-foot buzzsaw loose among store-front mannequins. Bits of Cyberman began flying in all directions!

Magneto, meanwhile, was considering the gate. His original intention had been to override the complex locking systems. Now, however, with Cybermen on the scene and others likely on the way, he changed his ideas.

"Back to brute force and ignorance." He sighed. "Oh, to be young again!"

But despite his advancing years, Eriks' powers were as formidable as they had ever been. With little more than an imperious gesture, he tore the steel gates – weighing several tons each – from their hinges and, almost as an afterthought, hurled them in among the advancing squadron of Cyberdrones that had come to support the assault troops.

Captain Tanaka and his men responded promptly, beginning a swift and orderly loading of the civilians onto the waiting trucks. A squad of Cybermen, seeing this, slipped out from the main melee and tried to intercept the evacuees. Magneto froze them in place and then overloaded their systems.

That proved to be the last of them, as the main brawl was now over. Magneto was about to rejoin his comrades when his name was called.

"Erik? Erik, is that you?"

The voice was that of a Cyberman, but there was a note of appeal in it that overrode the inflectionless mechanical tones. Erik looked around and saw that one of the ones he had overloaded was still active. It was looking at him and had a hand stretched out, beckoning feebly.

With an unpleasant feeling of foreboding, he went over and knelt beside the silver figure.

"I am Erik Lensherr." He said. "What do you want of me?"

"You don't know me." Was the reply. "Of course you don't. It's me, Erik, it's Raven."

"Raven?" Erik was shocked. "We thought..."

"That I was dead? I am. They took away my body, now there's only an echo left. When this machine stops, so will I." She replied.

"Can we do anything?" He asked. "Repair you, clone you a new body?"

"No!" Raven was adamant. "I'm dead, I've been dead for months. Don't drag me back, Erik, please!

"Now listen! The Cyber-King needs a human core. It has one. Some poor boy who only wanted a simple life away from machines and complexity. It's taken those dreams and twisted them into a programme for destruction. You have to remove that core. Once it's gone, the Cyber-King will go dormant and won't be able to make any more Cybermen. The rest will revert to base programming and be easier to deal with."

"Can we save the boy?" Erik asked.

"No." Raven answered. "He's dead, like me, like all the ones that were converted. We're just ghosts, Erik. Ghosts...in...steel."

There was an eruption of sparks. With a last effort, Raven closed a metallic, but strangely warm, hand on Eriks', instinctively, he murmured the _Shema_ over her, then she was gone.

The Cyber-King was apparently inert, ignoring the three airborne Avengers that approached it. Fortunately, all of them had the capacity to see past the apparent.

"Whoah!" Iron Man said. "No wonder they call it a Dreadnought! I'm getting massive power readings, intense computer activity and a really powerful electromagnetic defence field!."

"I can see the field, too." Ororo noted. "Even working together, Erik and I couldn't breach it. Ron?"

"I'm picking it up, too." Ron told her. "But even without it, that much advanced and active tech would play hob with any spells I cast. It's happened before, and at this level, even the suit couldn't compensate."

"More bad news." Tony added. "As well as the main armament, I'm seeing point-defence lasers and railguns all over the thing!"

"Only one person I know of has enough terawatts to take down that field." Ororo said. "But Thor's in Asgard, and we've got no way of reaching him."

"Even if we could get to it," Tony added, "there's only one guy who could do enough damage to stop it! I wish we knew where the Hell Bruce took himself off to!"

"I don't." Ororo said. "I was born to be Storm, you chose to be Iron Man. Bruce became the Hulk by accident – he wasn't born that way, and he didn't choose it. If he doesn't want to do it any more, I don't blame him."

"Some things are more important than what we want." Tony said grimly. "Cap taught me that!"

"Oh, bugger!" Ron said. "Folks, I think we're in trouble! That thing just launched a flotilla of those landing craft. Looks like they're forming up for an amphibious assault!"

"Goddess!" Storm exclaimed. "They're changing tactics!

"All units, this is Avenger One, pull back to primary defensive positions! _Avengers Assemble!_ "

Back at the Command Post, Storm wasted no time.

"Sitrep, Colonel?"

"Better than we were." Eriksson admitted. "The PRDC strike force just rolled in. Three hundred people with heavy weaponry including Stark International bolt-guns and phased plasma rifles. Five fighting vehicles mounting railguns, seven fixed-point railguns being set up at strategic points as we speak, three War Machine suits and six heavy mechs armed with Vulcan cannons and missile launchers.

"That said, we look to be facing better than fifteen hundred Cybermen, and a similar number of UAVs. They haven't brought out any heavy weapons themselves, yet, but it's only a matter of time.

"Then there's the dreadnought. It's been passive so far, but if they decide to deploy it, we're in deep trouble. The _Defiant_ is still six hours away and the SHIELD Heli-Carrier won't be in range for an hour after that. UNIT forces are at the staging area in South Korea, but the Japanese government is still dithering about letting them in. The Japanese public are still unhappy about having foreign armed forces on their soil. Memories are long here, and they're a proud people."

"Can't blame 'em." Logan noted. "I was here in the 1940s, after the War. The occupying forces didn't always behave well, or even politely!"

"I've got some contacts at the local Ministry of Magic." Arthur said. "Come on, Ron, let's see if we can get hold of somebody who can twist a muggle arm or two!"

"Has there been any sign of the Doctor?" Shadowcat wanted to know.

"Forget it, kid." Logan told her. "I know the Doctor, and he don't turn up to order. He's a TimeLord, not the pizza guy!"

"I've spoken with Dr Stewart in London." Eriksson said. "She has attempted to contact the Doctor. The call was taken by someone who identified herself as Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. When Dr Stewart explained the situation, Ms vas Normandy explained that she, her friends, and the Doctor were currently, and I quote, "Stuck between a cube full of Borg and a saucer full of Daleks!". Dr Stewart, and I don't blame her, allowed that the Doctor was needed more there than here, and Ms vas Normandy wished us "Good luck and Keelah sel'ai.", whatever that means."

"I never heard of the Borg," Ben said, "but if this dame used the D-word, then Kate was right!"

"OK!" Ron announced, coming up with Arthur. "We've lit a fire under the Japanese Minister for Magic. He says the UNIT forces will be with us in a couple of hours, even if he has to use an Imperius Curse on the entire muggle Cabinet!"

"How?" Storm asked simply.

"Friends in high places." Arthur explained.

"We dropped Harrys' name and he nearly shit himself!" Ron amplified bluntly. "My brother-in-law has a wholly undeserved reputation as a bad man to cross."

"I don't," Erik pointed out, "believe that the late Lord Voldemort would consider that reputation undeserved, Ronald! Besides, anyone who rejoices in the title 'Master of Death' is to be taken very seriously!"

"Greyhound to Trap One." The radio crackled. "Assault inbound, ETA five minutes!"

"Right!" Storm announced. "We know help's on the way, people, so we hold the line!"

They held. They held as the sun dipped toward the horizon. They held against wave after wave of disciplined, fearless cyborg fighters. The heavy mechs wrought havoc with volleys of depleted uranium slugs and HE missiles. The railguns mowed down dozens. The high-tech weapons of the PRDC placed the human soldiers on near-equal terms with their opponents. But they were outnumbered and still outgunned. Without the Avengers to protect their flanks, they would have been swamped. Humans, even meta-humans, tire, but the Cybermen did not. Humans can waver and lose morale, Cybermen cannot.

Then the Cybertank came, grinding over the bodies of the fallen of both sides. Armoured and shielded against anything the defenders could throw at it. It drove at the centre of the line. Slowly, patiently. Summoned in haste, the Avengers stood in it's path.

"If Ben, Petey and I can get in close enough..." Logan growled.

"You'd never make it!" Tony told him. "It hasn't used that plasma cannon yet, they're waiting until they can do most damage for least effort. But even you couldn't survive a shot from it!"

Then the sky broke open. A gigantic bolt of lightning struck the tank full on and left it frozen in place, sparking, smoking and burning.

"Not me!" Storm told them. "Which means..."

A tall, broad figure in a red cloak dropped to the ground in front of the tank. A hammer swung and the heavy vehicle flew backwards, flipping and bouncing like a toy car kicked in a tantrum. The Cybermen backed off, reforming from support squads to phalanxes.

Thor turned on his heel and strode to the Avengers. "My apologies." He said. "I had matters to deal with elsewhere, or I would have been here sooner!"

"Better late than never, Blondie!" Iron Man said. "Don't suppose you picked Bruce up on the way?"

Thor shook his head. "I know no more of Dr Banners' whereabouts than you. Doubtless Heimdall could find him, but would he come?"

"Trap One to Avenger One!" Erikssons' voice vibrated with relief. "UNIT forces are here, deploying forward now! See you in a few!"

The UNIT force was not just infantry and mechs. There were fifteen heavy battle-tanks in the formation. As these rolled forward, the Cybermen began an orderly retreat, revealing fortified positions they must have readied during the battle.

"Those won't hold against the tanks." Magneto noted.

"They won't have to." Ororo said grimly. "Look!"

The Cyber-King had finally roused. It was wading shoreward rapidly.

"This isn't good." Shadowcat said. "Not good at all. Petey, if we get out of this, I want a baby. Lots of babies!"

"As you say, Katyushka." The big, quiet young man said feelingly.

"Heads up!" Iron Man barked. "I've got something on my radar. Something in the air. Big, fast and on an intercept course with the Cyber-King!"

"What," Arthur asked Ron, "has your mother done now?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Ghosts in Steel**

 **Part Four: Victory of Spirit**

 _PRDC Plaza, Tokyo, Japan. Summer 2015_

It was a long job, Molly had known it would be. Truth be told, she wasn't altogether sure she'd be able to do it. But she had to try, and Molly Weasley had determination in spades!

The basic animation spell was surprisingly simple. But there was a world of difference between getting a doll or a teddy bear to walk, and hold up its arms for a cuddle, and this. This was preparing a 160-foot metal titan, not just to move, but to fly and to fight a foe larger and more heavily-armed than itself.

So animation was just the start. There was _Piertotum Locomotor_ , which Minerva McGonagall had used to animate suits of armour at the Battle of Hogwarts. But Molly discarded that in favour of the _Substitutiary Locomotion_ variant employed by Eglantine Price and Emelius Browne in the 1943 Pepperinge Eye Incident.

"Why that one, Molly-san?" Midori enquired.

"Because it doesn't require too much supervision." Molly told her. "At Hogwarts, Minerva had to order the armours into action and direct them to a certain extent. But Price and Browne only needed to tell their animated objects that England was in danger. The spirits within them did the rest."

"The ghosts of their former owners?" Midori hazarded.

"Um. Not exactly." Molly replied. "You're asking me to get technical dear, and that's Arthurs' job. Native American wizards came up with the best explanation. They say that everything has a spirit, or _manitou_ , of its own. When an object or item is made, its spirit is shaped by two things, its maker and its user. A craftsman puts part of himself into everything he makes, which is why something made by hand, by one person, has a much stronger manitou than something made by lots of different people in a factory. The spirit also gets changed and shaped by the intentions, deeds and personality of the person who uses it."

Shotaro, who had been listening quietly, now spoke up. "My father put a great deal of passion and commitment into building Testsujin." He noted. "Does this mean he has a strong spirit?"

"Just so." Molly said. "And you, Shotaro-san , put just as much passion and commitment into using him in battle. If we can once get Gigantor moving, that same determination to defend your land and people will send him where he's needed.

"But he's a product of complex technology, and even though most of it has been removed, we need more than simple magic to get him fully animated."

"Molly-san," Midori ventured. "I know something of Golem-making. Might this be of help?"

This was a surprise to Molly. The making of _homunculi_ – flesh Golems – was an ancient part of European magic, though frowned upon in many places as being dangerously close to the Dark Arts, especially necromancy. In America, where there was less regulation, certain families – the Addams and the Munsters in particular - had built homunculi, with differing degrees of success. Of course the muggle scientist Victor Frankenstein had created one by other methods, as had his relative Baron Heinrich von Frankenstein some decades later. But the building of Golems from other materials – clay, stone and metal – had been a well-preserved secret of Jewish wizards for centuries.

"However did you learn that, dear?" She asked.

Midori grinned. "I may be a witch, but I am still Japanese, Molly-san. Many people here are fascinated with robots and robotics – my country leads the muggle world in such technology. That fascination extends to the Japanese wizard community also. After leaving Mahoutokoro I studied under Golem-Master Loew in Tel Aviv for three years. I am a Newblood, you see, and I have a cousin who is a lead researcher in cybernetics at Tokyo University. I caught the bug from him!"

"Well, well!" Molly smiled. "It looks as if we have a chance. Let's get on with it then!"

It took time, and it was frustrating. Molly muttered "Oh, poot!" more often than she would normally allow herself, and upon two occasions, went as far as "Oh, sugar!" Fortunately, she did not understand nearly enough Japanese to have any idea of some of the things Midori said from time to time!

The sun was westering noticeably when Gigantor finally stirred. He seemed to shake himself, then looked down at the two humans and the ghost at his feet.

"You did it!" Shotaro crowed. "Is he ready? Can he fight?"

"Not quite." Molly allowed. "There's one more element needed."

"Tetsujin has never fought on his own, Shotaro-san." Midori told him. "He has always responded to your will, your control. That remains true even now. We have given his spirit power to move his body, but we cannot give him the power to direct himself."

"We have to Bind you." Molly said. "It's already halfway done. He recognises you, knows you, and he'll do what you tell him. But it needs to be quicker and closer than that. You need to be able to _think_ the orders to him. Now listen..."

At Shotaros' shouted orders, Gigantor lowered himself to one knee, and extended a single mighty finger to his controller. Shotaro placed his ghostly hands on it, and Molly and Midori chanted a complex charm that wove hands and finger together in a web of light. Then it was done.

"Right!" Molly told Shotaro. "You know where to go, so go, both of you!"

Gigantor scooped Shotaro up into his hand and rose to his full height, turning toward the sea. His back-mounted rockets spouted blue magical flames, and he shot into the sky, vanishing into the distance in seconds.

"Have we done enough, Molly-san?" Midori asked.

"We did all we could, dear." Molly told her. "The rest is up to them. But now I need a cup of tea!"

"Everything will be closed." Midori noted. "We could go to my apartment, and I will make tea."

"Good heavens no, dear!" Molly exclaimed. "Your Japanese tea is lovely, but not the thing to restore you after a long afternoons' work. Come along!"

They sat down on a nearby bench and Molly took out her mirror. "Ginny, dear," she said, "I and a friend are in dire need of some tea and a snack. Could you get Kreacher to do something and bring it over? Lovely, thank you dear. Love to Harry and the little ones!"

A few moments later, there was a loud boom and the old House-elf appeared carrying a tray. The tray promptly sprouted legs and he set it in front of them.

"Tea and sandwiches, Madame Molly!" He croaked, then vanished again.

"I do wish he wouldn't call me that." Molly mused as she poured out two cups of strong tea with milk and sugar. "It makes me sound as if I run a bordello in New Orleans!"

"I dare say you would do so very well, Molly-san." Midori stated.

"Cheeky!" Molly told her. "Corned beef sandwiches. Kreacher does know what I like! Help yourself, dear."

Midori bit into a sandwich, her eyes abruptly filled with tears, and she spluttered considerably.

"My home-made piccalilli." Molly noted.

" _Ah so desu ka?_ " Midori wheezed. "You perhaps serve it to your children when they displease you?"

Molly laughed. "Do have some more, dear. There are plenty!"

"I know." Midori said. "I can practically taste them from here!"

 _Industrial Park, Japanese coast, Summer 2015_

The Cyber-King was obviously also aware of the new arrival, because it stopped its advance and looked up. All the Cybermen on the ground also stopped, as if awaiting orders.

The newcomer came in fast and low, streaking over the heads of the defenders in a blaze of blue flame and an uncanny silence. The Cyber-King tried to bring its laser to bear, too late as the new arrival slammed its outstretched fists into the Dreadnoughts' chest.

It would have been a devastating blow, if not for the Cyber-Kings' energy shield. As it was, the field became visible for a moment, flaring blue-white as it strove to repel the terrific power of the strike. The Cyber-King was forced backwards by the impact, and the attacker touched down in front of it, poised to strike again.

"That's Gigantor!" Iron Man exclaimed. "How?"

"Molly." Arthur said. "I could tell she was up to something. We've been married so long, half the time I know what she's doing before she does!"

"Is she controlling it?" Storm asked.

"Nah." Ron told her. "If Mum was controlling it, that Cyber-King would be getting a proper telling-off about now!"

Gigantor swung a punch at the Cyber-Kings' 'face'. Again, the field flared, and again, the Dreadnought staggered back a pace.

"He can't get through that force-field!" Storm barked. "Thor?"

"At once!" The Aes was already whirling his hammer, and now he took to the sky. Storm followed, as did Iron Man and the Silver Sorceror.

But as they did so, the Cyber-King, having assessed its new opponent, retaliated, firing its laser cannon. Gigantor dodged to one side, a fraction too slowly, and one arm was almost severed. The Cyber-King followed up with a rocket that struck the smaller mech squarely in the chest. Gigantor was flung backwards into a rocky inlet nearby, where he lay still.

The Cyber-King began to close, to finish the job, but Thor was there. No being of Earth could have summoned such a lightning bolt, but the Aesir command, not just vast innate powers, but an ancient technology. Mjolnir, Thors' hammer, was a product of that technology, learned from the Aesirs' mentors, the Asgard, for use against the Gou'a'ould. What struck the Cyber-King, holding it transfixed and shorting its powerful shielding, was a mix of elemental electricity and bio-energy from Thor himself, augmented by Dark Energy.

Kaneda Shotaro, standing on a ledge above the fallen Gigantor, barely noticed. He had felt the Cyber-Kings' attacks as if they had happened to him. One arm was numb, and his chest ached as if several ribs were broken. Tetsujin lay against the rocks, his right arm half cut off, and a deep dent in his chest where the rocket had struck, but not penetrated.

"Please, Tetsujin!" Shotaro pleaded mentally as well as aloud. "We're not done yet!"

The spirit within the mech heard, and responded. The remaining hand gripped a spur of rock, and Tetsujin began to pull himself erect. Then a silver figure came out of the sky to hover near Shotaro. An amplified voice boomed " _Reparo!_ ". Feeling flooded back into Shotaros' arm, the pain in his chest disappeared abruptly. Tetsujins' arm rejoined itself, and the dents in his chest popped out as if they had never happened.

Shotaro turned to the armoured figure beside him. " _Arigato_ , sir. My thanks. You are a wizard, like Molly-san?"

"She's my mother." Ron told him. "I take it that she was the one that got this thing moving?"

" _Hai_. I am Kaneda Shotaro. In life I controlled Tetsujin, and Molly-san enabled me to do so again. But it is not enough. Tetsujin responds now faster than he did, but I must still react, and the delay is costly, as you saw." Shotaro shook his head, looking to where the Cyber-King, driven to one knee by Thors' attack, was beginning to recover.

"Then get rid of the delay, Shotaro-san!" Ron told him. "Don't just control Tetsujin, _be_ Tetsujin!"

"Is this possible?" Shotaro asked.

"Anythings' possible, if you want it enough!" Ron said. "My friends and I did things as teenagers, as kids, that lots of adults wouldn't or couldn't have done. We had our share of luck, but most of it was just sheer bloody-mindedness on our part.

"Now get in there, mate, and make it work!"

Ghosts don't need to breathe, of course, but Shotaro nonetheless inhaled deeply before floating down from the ledge and vanishing into Tetsujins'' head. There was a moment of absolute stillness, then the old mech began to move. Faster, more fluidly, and with greater intentionality than he ever had before. Now he moved, not like a remote-controlled mech, but like a living thing.

The Cyber-King had barely recovered from the lightning bolt before Gigantor was on it. It raised the laser cannon, but Gigantor grappled the arm. Like many Japanese, Shotaro had studied martial arts, and knew exactly where to push and twist. With a screech of tortured metal, the arm was torn off below the elbow, the cannon going with it.

The Cyber-King fired two rockets, but a swift kick in the midsection from Gigantor knocked it down and sent the missiles flying wide. Storm disabled one with a lightning bolt while Iron Mans' repulsors sent the other out to sea to detonate harmlessly.

Tony Starks' amplified voice bellowed; "The head! You need to take the head!"

Gigantor landed a thundering punch that spun the Cyber-King round. Moving quickly, Gigantor wrapped his mighty arms round the head, wrenching and twisting. The Cyber-King thrashed violently, but in vain, as the head came away and the body collapsed into the sea.

"Keep hold of it!" Tony called again, then flew close to the 'mouth' to drop in another figure who had been hovering near him.

Erik had used his magnetic powers to hitch a ride with Iron Man. Now he strode into what had been the main control centre for the wrecked Dreadnought. The damage was severe, and the few functional Cybermen left were no match for Magneto, so that he reached his goal quickly.

A chair, surrounded with complex machinery. Seated in it, connected to it by leads and tubes forced into his body and skull, was a young man. He stared at Magneto with blank, black eyes.

"Meta-human." He intoned. "Omega-level Mutant. High intelligence, strong will. Ideal candidate for Cyber-Controller. You must be upgraded..."

The voice died away, the eyes closed for a moment, and when they opened they were brown, human and full of agony.

"I can't stop them." The boy whispered. "You have to kill them, for the sake of who they used to be. Me, too. Please. Make it stop."

Erik nodded, and overloaded the circuitry. The young man died instantly, and the last of the Cyber-King went with him. Erik promised himself that he would find out who the boy had been and get him a proper burial. None of this had been his fault.

"Erik!" Tonys' voice was urgent. "The Cybermen on shore are forming up again!"

"Then let us go, my young friend!" Erik said. "Let us go and put an end to this too-long day!"

It actually took most of the night. Trapped between the now-formidable shore forces, and a sea guarded by Gigantor, the Cybermen had nowhere to go. So they simply fought. Bravely, untiringly, efficiently, until the last of them went down just before the sun rose above the horizon.

Gigantor, still standing a few yards offshore, bowed to his allies, and then was gone, heading back toward Tokyo on a column of silent blue flame.

As the UNIT and PRDC forces began the clean-up, Erik sought out Ben. The Thing was smoking a cigar and listening with quiet amusement to Kate and Piotr.

"Petey, you know what I said about a baby..." Kate was saying.

"I know, Katya." Piotr was smiling. "You say it before every big fight. I'll know you mean it when you say it to me in a quiet time!"

"You know me too well!" She complained. "It's getting spooky!"

"Ben, may I speak with you?" Erik asked. "You too, Kate and Piotr, as the matter concerns both of you, as well.

"Back at the oil refinery, I spoke with a dying Cyberman. That is to say, with the last remnant of the person the Cyberman used to be. It was someone we know – Raven Darkholme."

"Mystique?" Shadowcat responded. "But she told War Machine she was dying – her cybernetic heart..."

"It appears the Cybermen found her first, and 'upgraded' her." Erik shook his head. "She is gone now, at last."

"Well, good riddance to bad rubbish!" Kate said firmly. "I know you and she used to be close, Erik, and while you were there to hold her leash, she was less of a menace. But you were, are, a decent man who was once driven to extreme means for a good end. Mystique was never anything other than a human-hating psychopath and mass-murderer."

Erik nodded. "I know, Katherine, that your experience with Raven was very different from mine. I am to an extent responsible for that, in that I pursued other goals and attempted to resolve personal conflicts rather than remain to mentor the Brotherhood into something better. I do not blame you for your feelings on the matter, your experience with Mystique more than justifies them.

"Raven Darkholme was an ancient and complex being, and I cannot pretend to fully understand her. I know she was insane at times, but at others she recalled and regretted some of her acts of madness. What I do know is that, for a time, she was my wife..."

"You never mentioned that!" Piotr pointed out.

"Nobody asked." Magneto told him. "Though I think Charles was aware – he misses very little. Raven and I parted ways and divorced when our views on the role of Mutants in society at large diverged too much. She accused me of becoming a 'human apologist' for beginning to pursue equality rather than domination.

"Be that as it may, while we were married she converted for a time to my religion, so that someone should say Kaddish for her. I know that you no longer follow the faith of our fathers, Katherine, but I was hoping that you, Benjamin, would join me in the prayer when we return home?"

"Sure thing, pal." Ben replied. "I think I remember it!"

Thor had sought out Ron, who was chatting with his father and Tony.

"Ronald Arthursson!" He grasped Rons' hand firmly. "I am told you are now an Avenger? Having followed your career and seen you fight this day, I am glad to count you among our number!"

"Thanks." Ron told him. "I'll only be part-time, of course – still got the day job to think of!"

"Which is as it should be." Thor told him. "All of us have other matters to attend to. The Avengers have only ever assembled at time of great need, my friend!"

"Fair enough." Ron allowed. "But, you know, I always thought that Harry would be the one that got co-opted into this unit."

Tony shook his head. "Nah, not his style. I've worked with both of you, remember? Harry is a good man and one Hell of a wizard, but he's a cop through and through. Good investigator, good organisational skills and a passion for justice. He's a protector and a defender more than a fighter.

"But you, big fella, you're a fighter to the backbone! You've got the tactical skills, the raw power and you just love kicking ass! That's what we do, kick ass! You'll fit right in, Ron.

"Where is Harry, by the way? He wasn't at home when I passed through London last week."

"Quantico." Ron told him. "All very hush-hush, but he's doing Whitelighter training with the FBS. We don't have Whitelighters in the UK, and Harry thought it was time we got some. Being as how he's our best expert in Defence Against the Dark Arts, he decided to look into it himself first.

"Which does mean I have to get back sharpish. He left me in charge, but when this lot came up, I had to detail Angelina off to run things, and if I dawdle around too much, I'll get a right earful about it!"

"And that we must all all costs avoid!" Thor noted with a grin. "I have leisure to remain here for a while, Ronald, so we will talk – and drink – together soon, yes?"

"Definitely!" Ron asserted. "But I'd best get going. 'Mione will be fretting, apart from anything else, I only had time to send her a Patronus message.

"Tell everyone else I'll see them soon, gents. Dad, love to Mum and enjoy the rest of your visit!"

And with a slight 'pop', the newest Avenger was gone.

Logan was surveying the battlefield, littered as it was with wrecked Cybermen. As Ororo approached, he turned to her with a wry grin.

"Go tell the Cybermen, passer by, that here by Cyber-law, we lie." He said.

Storm shook her head. "I never get your limits, Logan." She complained. "You smoke like a furnace and never cough. I've seen you drink enough whiskey in a night to kill an ordinary man, and you never even have a hangover. I know, that's your healing factor.

"But then you talk like a lumberjack or a stevedore one minute, and the next you're paraphrasing Epidaurus at me! I've heard you recite some of the rudest limericks I've ever heard, sing drinking songs that make me blush to listen to, then you go and quote Shakespeare or Milton, or compose the most beautiful _haiku_ on the spot!

"Who are you, my friend?"

"Damned if I know!" Logan told her. "Weapon X took my memory, or tried to. Now I'm like a man livin' in a big old house and only usin' half a dozen of the rooms. I know the others are there, and some of 'em are unlocked and lit up and furnished. But others are still dark, or only dimly lit, and some are still locked. More of 'em open up every year, 'Roro, but I don't know if I'll ever remember all of it. Not sure I even want to.

"But right now, I could use a beer!"

"There is a bar a little way down the road." Storm took his arm. "I think I shall join you."

"People will talk." He warned her, half-humorously.

"They already are." She replied. "And perhaps they are right to do so. It is seven years since I lost T'Challa, and you lost Lady Mariko – both to the Daleks. I am a widow, Logan, but I am not dead, and I do not think a force exists that could make an end of you. Neither of us is inclined to let others too close, yet we seek each other out in times of trouble, and in quiet times."

"You sayin' we should quit fightin' it, darlin'?" He asked.

"I am saying that there is perhaps more between us than we have admitted to ourselves." She replied. "I am also saying that I, too, could use a beer!"

 _PRDC HQ, Tokyo, Japan, Summer 2015_

Being a sensible woman, Molly had returned to her hotel and tried to sleep, with limited success. But she was back at the PRDC building with the dawn, only for Midori to arrive minutes later.

"Couldn't you sleep either, dear?" She asked.

Midori shrugged. "It is not easy when people you have come to know are in danger. You must have had many such nights, Molly-san."

Molly sighed. "Rather too many, Midori-san. It doesn't get any easier. But if you marry a brave man and raise brave children, it's what happens."

"Better honour with a little worry," Midori pointed out, "than security with shame, surely?"

"If I were a samurai lady or a Spartan woman, I'd probably agree." Molly allowed. "But on the whole, I'd rather that we didn't have these conflicts at all. There are more and better ways for people to prove themselves. But we all do what we must, don't we? No sense complaining."

Then with a rush of air, Tetsujin arrived, settling back into his accustomed place on a column of blue fire. After a moment, Shotaro floated out of the mechs' head and drifted down to the two women. He bowed to them both, deeply.

" _Arigato_ , ladies." He said. "Thank you for giving a pair of old warriors the chance to fight again, if only once."

"Is all well?" Midori asked anxiously.

"As well as can be." Shotaro assured her. "The Cybermen are defeated and the Cyber-king lies in ruins. You will be pleased to know, Molly-san, that your son and husband both came through the battle unscathed, though the same cannot be said for any Cyberman foolish enough to cross their respective paths.

"But what now for Tetsujin and I?"

"Well, the spells we cast had to be permanent." Molly told him. "We didn't know, you see, how long this was going to go on, so we couldn't time-limit them. We could take them off, I suppose, but..."

"The world is still a dangerous place." Midori pointed out. "Now my employer told me last night that the PRDC are planning to reactivate and upgrade Raydeen, Dangard Ace and Combatra, the three mothballed super-mechs, and train new pilots for them.

"But this will take time, Shotaro-san, and until then, and possibly even after that, there may yet be a need for you and Tetsujin."

"Every army needs at least one wily old veteran." Molly stated. "Every country or people needs one guardian they can rely on at the last throw. I'm no Seer, Shotaro-san, but I know destiny when I see it."

Shotaro bowed. "Again, I thank you, ladies. Our duty, then, is set."

He turned and walked back to Tetsujin, floating up and into the head again. The giant robot bowed once to the two women, then resumed his former stance, but with an added air of watchfulness.

"And so begins another legend." It was Arthurs' voice, and the women turned to see him standing there with Tony Stark.

"Arthur!" Molly cried, and darted into his arms. Their greeting was prolonged enough for Tony and Midori to introduce themselves before Arthur finally surfaced and said. "So, my darling, what have you been up to?"

"I might ask you the same!" Molly replied. "Long stories on both sides, I reckon!"

"It'd go better with some grub!" Arthur opined.

"There is a cafe nearby." Midori told them. "It opens early and is run by an expatriate Englishman who has made a small fortune selling what he calls a "Full English Breakfast" to hungry salarymen."

"Full English?" Arthur rubbed his hands. "We _are_ talking about bacon, sausages, eggs and so forth, aren't we?"

"All of those," Midori allowed, "as well as a great delicacy known as 'HP Sauce'."

"Well, what are we waiting for, people?" Tony demanded. "Let's get breakfast!"


End file.
